Technically record is held by Dmitry Nasonov at 400kg / 880lbs. It was with big as bumpers though. Dunno if it really counts. So all credit to him but outside of big as WRPF bumper plates who will break the record?
He competed recently and pulled 365kg with more in the tank and a badly torn callus.
John Haack is close and getting stronger. Think his last meet was same weight.
Yangsu Ren has been pulling heavy in that range in straps but his grip is a wild card. USAPL also so far so more natty lol than Haack or Nasanov.
Dam I know I’m not in here very much and bumping up to 198s for a bit, but I was getting up there with a 740x3.5 a few weeks back. And never took anything either.
I suspect because it makes it easier to distinguish between a good rep and an accidental drop. If someone drops the bar just as the down command is given, well then the judges are in a bit of a tricky situation about deciding, did the grip go before or after the call was made? It can be tight and leaves it to judgement and disagreement.
If the down command isnt the end of the lift, only a new queue, and once the bar is down they can look back at the lift and make a decision then its much cleaner.
Technique is sublime, and his leverages are just perfect for Sumo. He’s like a more compact Cailer Wollam.
pound for pound this is the most impressive deadlift I’ve ever seen, easily. Deadlift goals right there. I’d love to know how he trains. And what he takes…
He has a YouTube channel. He probably doesn’t follow the kitchen sink approach ala Larry Wheels. I think the Russian guys take less or at least more conservative shit. I remember some interview where to US dude was asking the Russian dude what he takes and was surprised by how little like “100mg a day…?”
I’ve been lucky and since starting powerlifting I have had a older European guy look out for me, hes of polish descent. Hes been telling me from the beginning less is more with everything, volume, intensity and drugs.
And ill be damned, all my body composition changes and gains have been slow steady and injury free. There’s something to it.
It looks like they also do other stuff that a lot of lifters in the Western world don’t. Sergey Ponamarev recently said something on Instagram about how he has Maryanna doing cardio in the offseason because it improves liver function which will make the drugs more effective when she goes back on, and that means she won’t need to take as much either. Malanichev also goes jogging in the offseason and cuts a whole bunch of weight, Ilya Ilyin (weightlifter, banned for drugs) was barely lifting at certain times of the year and focusing on cardio instead.
Also consider how people are using outdated (or incorrectly applied) Russian methods like Prilepin’s chart and linear perdiodization (which can work for PL but not so much for other sports). You can be sure they did more research into PEDs than any western countries, they basically pioneered the whole thing from the start.
